Chapter 3

“Anna, has lying become a habit for you now? That’s sea bass. There are no bones in it.”

I stood there frozen.

The feeling of something being stuck in my throat was getting worse. I could not be wrong.

“I specifically told your mom to buy this fish for dinner. There’s no way it has bones.”

A flash of guilt flickered in Mom’s eyes.

She opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

At this point, the truth was obvious to me.

Dad had given her the money, but to pocket the difference, she must have bought a cheaper fish instead.

Even with everything unraveling, she chose to stay silent.

My throat kept swelling. I could barely breathe.

I thought, ‘I’m sorry, Mom. I can’t cover for you this time.’

“Dad, I’m not lying! There’s really something stuck in my throat!”

I wanted to prove it, but the fish had been thrown off the table. It was scattered all over the floor.

I searched through the mess for what felt like forever before finally finding a piece with fishbones still in it.

But before I could pick it up and show it to my father, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me close.

“Anna, you really don’t need to put on such a pitiful act.”

Then, he pulled out a pack of wet wipes from his pocket.

“Wipe your hands. Go to your room and think about what you’ve done.”

He still thought I was lying.

But when he saw the tears in my eyes, he hesitated.

He pulled out his phone, turned on the flashlight, and was ready to take a look.

I opened my mouth. Just then, the relatives around the table started laughing.

“Look at that! She’s got her dad fooled again!”

“Adam, you’re just enabling her. If this works, she’ll keep lying next time too.”

Dad’s face darkened instantly. He shoved me aside and walked out to the porch for a cigarette.

He was a doctor.

One look was all it would have taken for him to see how swollen my throat was.

Yet no matter how I called after him, he did not turn back.

After Dad left, Mom hurriedly shoved me toward the bedroom.

She knew the fish she had bought had fishbones.

But to her, even if something really was stuck, it was no big deal. She thought swallowing a few times would make it go down.

After all, she had never heard of anyone actually choking to death on a fishbone.

My suffering was better than her being embarrassed in front of everyone.

I was desperate. I cried and grabbed at the clothes of my uncles, aunts, and cousins. I begged them to take me to the hospital.

All I got in return was laughter.

“Anna, you’re so manipulative at such a young age! Wasn’t it enough to scam us out of all that gift money over the years? Are you trying to scam us for medical bills too?”

“Just go to your room and think about what you’ve done. If you behave, maybe your dad will let you come out later to watch the fireworks.”

No one believed me. To them, I was just a bad kid.

Mom pushed me into the bedroom. She hesitated for a second, then brought in a plate of pasta and set it on the nightstand.

“Anna, if something really is stuck, just chew and swallow some food. It’ll push it down. As for what happened, I know it’s not fair to you, but you can’t blame me. Who knew it would blow up like this? You’re just a kid. Losing a little dignity doesn’t matter. Just help me out this time, okay?”

I thought, ‘But Mom, I’m not just losing dignity… I’m losing my life.’

The door slammed shut. It was locked from the outside. I beat my palms against it until they were red and swollen, but no one came.

I did not want to die. I was still so young.

I wanted to watch fireworks with my parents.

I grabbed the plate of pasta and started stuffing it into my mouth in the hopes that it could save me.

I swallowed one mouthful after another. In the end, it all got stuck in my throat. My breathing grew heavier and heavier.

When my consciousness returned, I was finally breathing easy.

I looked down at my body lying on the bed. For the first time, I felt that being dead made things easier.

The locked door could not hold me anymore. I drifted out to the living room.

Dad was going around the table and toasting each relative one by one.